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Technavio predictsthe global social media management software (SMMS) market will grow more than 30% by 2021. SMMS is quite young, and I believe the growing demand for such applications gives startups a good chance to win a place in the sun if they can provide the right target audience with unique features for a reasonable price. In my opinion, we are on the edge of the social media management boom.

Despite the controversy that surrounds privacy, hacking and all the other negative aspects of online life, the world continues to embrace the internet and social media. Global digital growth shows no sign of slowing, with more than 4.3 billion people around the world using the internet, according to a report by We Are Social. This growth is likely fuelling social media use. The report also found that a whopping 3.48 billion people use social media.

As the founder of a social media management software company, I've observed a number of ways leaders can reach a global audience, including crafting engaging content and scheduling posts. But here are a few strategies ways you might not have considered that can help you stand out as an entrepreneur in this field:

Consider shifting to a business-to-business model.

Based on my observations, business-to-business models (B2B) are seemingly dominating business-to-consumer models (B2C) in this market for many reasons. As customers become over-saturated with new products, they might prefer to go the trodden path to save time, effort and money. When this happens, companies must look for a new edge over competitors.

In my experience, monetizing your product in a B2C model can be a challenging undertaking for startups because the average consumer is not always willing to pay for SMMS. I've found that companies, on the other hand, are more willing to pay for a quality product. I've learned that focusing on selling to businesses can also allow more startups to compete in this market, as much of the B2C segment is largely controlled by big players.

In terms of dedicated B2B and B2C software, one advantage of the former is that you can receive clear insight into what your model needs, thus resulting in more targeted product refinements. While selling your product to end customers is a good strategy, scaling it can be resource intensive. Customize your app to make it valuable — and even essential — for business users, and provide them with optimal B2B marketing.

Make use of tailored segmentation.

To find success in this space, you do not need to target as many users as you can. Instead, split your audience into categories, select the category whose needs your product can fulfill best, and start working with them. For startups, it is crucial to find the closest fit for a customer base to focus your efforts on. I believe thePareto Principle (80% of sales come from 20% of clients) proves itself if you did your job and found your specific niche group to market to. At my company, for example, these segments are small and medium business, bloggers and freelancers working with SMMS.

The best part is that when you reach your top capacity at this point, you can make adjustments to your product to seize another category of users and expand your market share.

Think about teaming up with larger players.

I've observed that integration with acknowledged giants, such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft or Apple, is one of the top demands for all information technology products today. I believe to compete with fast-paced startups, traditional companies must stay up-to-date and join the agile community by offering flexibility and a consumer-oriented approach. Based on what I am seeing in the market, products with the highest integration opportunities tend to be in top demand.

Of course, integration with known giants does not come as a given. If you're interested in negotiating with a larger company, remember the following:

• Create a strategy that is a win-win solution for all parties involved.

• Do not confuse your interests with the interests of the other brand.

• Be ready to adapt and change your play.

• Be thorough in your reasoning, but polite and flexible as you negotiate.

• Do not take offense if the negotiations fall short of your expectations.

Account for future trends.

I believe messaging apps, specifically, are a social trend to keep in mind as you design your business. A growing number of people are usingmessaging apps in their daily lives. I believe every SMMS startup should embrace the coming trends and prepare themselves to build their operations on messengers from the very beginning to avoid the unnecessary troubles of adopting new procedures later on. In my opinion, the ability to schedule posts to messengers and answering comments from one window will be a must in a year or two.

The bottom line is that if you want to win the game, you’ll have to find your perfect fit user, give him or her more features for less money and enable your product with profound integration capacities. From my perspective, it doesn’t necessarily matter if your user is the end-customer or a company — you can thrive and grow in both ways.